The Plot Hole
by Minesniper
Summary: One day, Nora notices a plot hole in RWBY, and points it out to her friends. When they become aware of the inexplicable occurrence, it sparks a series of catastrophic events that wreak havoc on the fabric of their reality. Will they survive their world falling into insanity, who is 'Chaos' and what does he want? I'll take requests or suggestions for chapters that I like, crack-fic.
1. The Middle of the Beginning of the end

**Hello everyone, I asked for your votes and The Plot Hole won (only by 1 vote though, sorry Red Wolf fans!). Actually, the whole poll was pretty damn close. We had Plot hole in first, Red wolf 1 point behind that, Hunting Grounds** _ **and**_ **Faded Rose one point behind** _ **that**_ **, and Opponent, Audience, and a Game one point behind** _ **them**_ **! This was ridiculously close!**

 **Anyways, here it is! This first chapter is the introduction, not too much going on. I originally had this idea watching somebody do a CinemaSins-style video on RWBY Volume 1. This isn't going to be representative of the rest of the story, as this is exposition, but after this it becomes a series of mostly unrelated insane situations. Kinda like RWBY Chibi but… well, funny I hope (I like some of the shorts in it, but most of them aren't that good in my opinion).**

 **Also, check out** **Rohge-Killer. He shouted me out, so I'm shouting him out. Then you can shout _us_ out, and we'll shout you out. Then we get a whole network of shout-outs to the point they're obsolete and we're just listing every author on the site! Or, you know, just check him and his work out... that works too...**

 **With that,** _ **let the games begin!**_

* * *

Chapter 1: The Middle of the Beginning of the end

"The moral of the story? A true huntsman must be honorable! A true huntsman must be dependable! A true huntsman must be strategic, well educated, and wise!" Nora slumped down and laid her head on her arms. This professor just would not shut up! To make matters worse, she'd been feeling off all day, like something just wasn't quite right. "So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Suddenly, a row ahead of her, Weiss Schnee's hand shot up as she responded to the teacher's question with "I do, sir!"

' _Wow, she's certainly eager._ ' The large man turned to look to his right, focusing on a metal cage with the glowing red eyes of a creature of Grimm behind the bars. "Well then, let's find out. Step forward, and face your opponent!"

The heiress rose from her seat and strutted down to the center of the room, and that's when it began. Nora squinted at the girl as she realized there had been a sudden costume change. Weiss had been wearing her school uniform like the rest of the class, Nora had blinked, and when her eyes opened the ivory-haired huntress was in her combat attire.

"Wait a second!" Nora called out from her seat, "when did you change clothes?" The girl looked confused for a moment before looking down. Upon seeing what she was wearing, Weiss jumped a little bit. "What the- how did I get in my combat uniform?" While the class directed their attention at the first interesting thing to happen in that class all day, Nora's mind was already moving on to different subjects.

"And when did the cage get there, professor? It wasn't there when we got in, but it just appeared when you brought it up!" The old huntsman simply shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't answer that, Miss Valkyrie. To be honest, I don't remember putting it there myself. I'm not sure how I knew it would be a part of the lesson."

Ren laid a hand on Nora's shoulder. "I have a bad feeling about this, perhaps there are some things best left unknown." But the Valkyrie would not be deterred, she was on a roll. "How did such a loud and violent monster stay completely still and silent until we saw it?" The man was at a loss. Never before had he encountered something so strange as this.

Then, it got worse. "And what about the video of the break-in at the CCT? In half the frames the woman has a mask on, and in the other half it's off!"

Blake looked at her in confusion. "There was a break-in at the CCT? When? Who recorded it? How did you end up seeing the footage?" Nora pondered this for a moment. "Well it happened during the school dance… which I'm just now realizing doesn't come for another semester… what is going on!?"

Then Ruby spoke up. "Come to think of it, I don't know how I didn't realize this earlier, but I just noticed that people are pitch black unless they're going to talk with you." Looking back at the rows of people, she gasped at the fact that they all now were shaded in like normal. Then all Hell broke loose. Students all began pointing out anything and everything that never made sense to they that they'd simply accepted until now.

"When did Vale change all its signs, street lights, and crosswalks to holograms?"

"How did that massive Deathstalker fit through the tiny cave entrance from initiation?"

"Wait a second, Jaune, we're not even in this class- what are we doing here?"

"I could swear that I keep seeing some weird dinosaur in downtown Vale."

"Does Remnant have dinosaurs?"

"Guys, don't freak out, but I think Professor Ozpin _may_ be a wizard."

At that last comment, a burst of energy rushed through the room, leaving a swirling white and blue vortex in the center of the room next to Port. "Ugh… students? Is everyone okay?" He asked, and was met with mumbles of 'yes.'

Then one voice rose above the rest. "I… feel… awesome!" Nora Valkyrie stood behind the desk flexing her arms and smiling broadly.

Then, from the floating spiral, fog spilled onto the floor. It filled the room steadily until the students could barely see a couple feet ahead of them. All of a sudden, as quickly as the gas flooded the classroom, it receded and left the area clear once more. Now, however, a man stood in front of the swirling gyre as if he had emerged from it.

He wore a long black cloak that seemed to turn to smoke at the bottom. The hood was up, obscuring his face in shadow despite the fact that the well lit room certainly should have been enough to illuminate him.

"Who… are you?" The teacher of the confused class demanded in a booming voice. The figure turned its head to stare at him, before removing its hood. His appearance was about as far from what the class had expected as one could get. While many had expected a dark imposing figure, others an ancient white-haired, bearded man, and a few even anticipating the skeletal incarnation of death itself, none had expected this.

He had olive colored eyes, pale skin, and disheveled blonde hair. He looked like a bum. When he removed the hood, the rest of his cloak began to evaporate as well. It soon left him in a black jacket, green t-shirt, a pair of tan shorts, and some slightly dirtied sneakers. The once imposing form that looked like something out of a nightmare quickly became what appeared to be a lazy man with little care for his appearance.

"I… am an asshole. But you may call me 'Chaos!'" He responded. "And we are going to have a lot of fun together!"

* * *

Beacon's headmaster was having a bizarre day. It had started that morning when he could have _sworn_ he'd left his glasses on his bedside table, but instead found them on his desk. Nothing particularly unnerving about that, but it didn't end there.

He spent ten minutes searching for his car keys, only to remember that, well… he didn't have a car. Even if he did, his office was a five minute walk from his room, why would he need to drive?

From there, things went from bad to worse. His tower seemingly being transported to the other side of the campus. Taking a sip of his normal coffee, setting it down, then returning to find it's now decaf. Pressing the button for his office in the elevator, and coming out on a different floor. The list went on.

By the time he'd successfully navigated his way through the suddenly maze-like school and made it to his desk, he was already wishing the day was over. ' _What is happening with me today? Have I developed Alzheimer's, am I going insane, have I been drugged?_ '

It was then that he received a call from his colleague, Glynda Goodwitch, which he was hesitant to answer. She never contacted him out of the blue without a good reason, and right now, the old professor was _not_ prepared to deal with whatever it was. ' _You've stared down armies of Grimm, confronted their queen, mitigated generations worth of crises, yet you allow a bad morning to best you? Not today, come on, get moving!_ '

Accepting her call, Ozpin failed to keep the exhaustion out of his voice. "Yes, Glynda?"

"I've apprehended a trespasser in the school, sir." From the background he could hear a whine of protest, _"apprehended a trespasser, my ass!"_ Ignoring the foul-mouthed individual, the combat instructor continued. "They appeared in the middle of Port's lecture. Prior to and following their arrival, there have been many reports of strange or inexplicable occurrences throughout the school. Should I bring him to you?" Again, the voice piped up. _"I asked to go to him!"_

' _Ah, the culprit of this morning's insanity. It will be interesting to see how he relates to all of this._ ' The professor smiled at the thought of being able to put this madness behind him. "Please do." Terminating the call, Ozpin leaned back in his chair and awaited their arrival.

Not more than ten seconds later, his door opened, but it was not who he expected to enter. A certain hammer-wielding student walked into his office before flopping on the floor. "Funny, I thought there was carpet here…." She said to herself.

"Can I help you, Miss Valkyrie?"

Her head shot up to look at Ozpin. "What!? But I was just in my hallway, and- argh!" she growled out before dropping her head once again. If what he had surmised from her exasperation was correct, then there was something far more complicated than confusion going on. ' _If whatever is occurring has caused disruptions in something so fundamental as space itself, I wonder if Glynda's intruder is a cause, or just another effect._ '

Again, the elevator door slid apart, this time the expected occupants stepping into the office. Ignoring the prone student- whether because of the day's strangeness or the fact that this was semi-typical of Nora Valkyrie, Ozpin didn't know- and walked with her prisoner up to the desk.

Like anyone who had heard of the insanity of the day's events, Ozpin had pictured the one tied to it to look quite different. "This man calls himself ' _Chaos_ ', and he seems to be behind the disturbance in Port's class." Though somewhat pretentious, Ozpin found the name to be fitting, and the man's appearance made sense too. He was the embodiment of disorder. Messy hair, haphazardly dressed, in general an odd look about him. It wasn't complete lunacy, nor was it a concerted effort for absolutely no part of him to match with another. It was simply… messy.

Tame enough to pass off as normal, weird enough to stand slightly out against the crowd.

"So, Mr… Chaos." _'That's not going to get easier to say._ ' "Would you mind explaining why my school is defying the laws of time and space, I've received reports of playful Grimm, and Miss Valkyrie opened her dormitory's door and stepped in here through it?"

The sudden arrival smiled mischievously, the satisfaction in his eyes was unlike anything Ozpin had seen since Qrow had super-glued his coffee mug to his hand. "Well, you see, one of your students –that one on the ground to be precise- has a power unlike anyone else here." Once again, the orange-haired student's head perked up. "You see, her semblance allows her total mastery of the fourth wall. And now she inadvertently used that power to point out inconsistencies in your reality."

Goodwitch's eyes narrowed. "The fourth wall is the imaginary wall between performers and the audience, and inconsistencies are errors in a story- _neither_ of which exist in _real life_." Chaos chuckled, "sure, _real life_."

"What?"

"Nothing," he quickly replied, "look, the point is, she brought that plot hole into existence and with it, me. With proper training, she could truly control her ability. Imagine a warrior who could get anything you need at a moment's notice, literally the second you look away. A huntress who can find anyone they need, even if there's no reason for them to be where she finds them."

"Wait a minute!" Nora yelled from the ground where she still laid. "I already know my semblance, I can make and control electricity in my body. How can I have that as a semblance too?" She looked at Chaos expectantly, waiting for his answer.

"For the same reason that Yang can summon aviator shades at a moment's notice. This world's plot has been becoming more and more unstable, continuity errors scattered through time are throwing Remnant out of order. Today was the breaking point. Too many mistakes were made at once, too many inexplicable events were noticed. Now you have created a physical plot hole, and things will only get worse."

The two staff members of Beacon Academy listen intently, while Nora started playing a game on her scroll, this conversation having exceeded her two minute attention span. "The plot hole will create more and more inconsistencies, more and more errors. With each one, it will grow larger, its influence will be greater. This will spiral out of control, and all logic and reason will be thrown out the window."

Glynda and Ozpin couldn't decide whether to be concerned or skeptical. None of it made sense, but at the same time, nothing else that had happened that day did either. "Nora here will be the only one who can resist the Plot Hole's power, but it will take her time to realize her powers. For now, she too will experience the same oddities you do; but in time, she may be the only one able to keep her head in the insanity."

"That girl," Chaos said, pointing at the orange-haired girl who was currently looking at pictures of kittens, "may be your only hope."

' _We're doomed._ '

* * *

 **And there you have it, chapter 1! It didn't take too long to write, and soon I'll be uploading my next chapter of Hollow Fragments and hopefully the biweekly schedule will work out!**

 **Now, here's the fun part. At the end of each chapter, I will put the name of the next chapter, and I'll let you guess what is going to happen! Feel free (by which I mean it's fun for me if you do) to leave your guess in the review. Also let me know if you liked a chapter or if you have any ideas for a chapter that you'd like to request. If I think I can make a chapter out of it, I'll do it! That said, here we go:**

 **Next chapter: "Wake-up Call"**


	2. Wake-up Call

**So as you may have guessed, the upload schedule isn't working for me anymore, and I'm afraid I'll have to write and upload when I can. Sorry about that.**

 **Anyways, nobody guessed this chapter's premise correctly since last time, but someone did come close. Not that I can actually find who that was, since it has vanished into the sea of messages I have.**

 **I'd also like to start by saying that this one is going to be a bit off from the other chapters I have planned, but for a different reason. Instead of the characters acting mostly normal, and the scenario being crazy, I tried to ease into the insanity-to-come by making the situation more normal. However, this ended up meaning that all the _characters_ acted differently from normal, so not everything ended up working as well as I'd hoped.**

 **Inspiration for this comes partly from my chemistry teacher. He's a machine that runs solely on Pepsi-max, and I'm not convinced he actually sleeps.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Wake-up Call

"Zzzzz…. Mmm, pancakes…." Nora mumbled in her sleep as her team members stood in front of her bed. The three of them had been debating whether or not to wake the sleeping Valkyrie.

"It seems as if Nora has been tired ever since the arrival of the Plot Hole. Sleep is important to one's health, perhaps it is best if we allow her to rest. Besides, since I no longer need to spend every waking second with her, I've been more productive than ever before." Ren pointed out.

"But think about her grades," Jaune argued, "she's already one of the lower scores in the class. Now you and I know that studying's not really Nora's thing, but it wouldn't be good for her if they got even worse! Just because the world as we know it is falling apart doesn't mean we get the day off. Which, I'm with you, is really stupid. I mean, what's Port going to do? Is he just going to walk _around_ the Hole while he puts everyone to sleep?"

Pyrrha rested a hand on the boy's should, a slight blush on her face, though he didn't notice. ' _He never does._ ' She thought sadly. "Don't worry Jaune, I'm sure you'll make the right choice." The blonde sighed.

"Yeah, I just wish there was some way we could stop her from being so sleepy all the time now." A crack of thunder sounded out, a wolf howled at the moon, and the grandfather clock on the wall struck midnight, all at the same time.

"Well, that's odd." Pyrrha stated the obvious. "It's a nice clear morning, and it's not even 8:50… and when did we get a clock there?" The door behind her swung open and Beacon's new resident headache stepped through.

"Did somebody say 'Faustian?'" Chaos said happily as he wore a wide smirk on his face. The children, not understanding what he meant, stood in silence, until Jaune finally replied. "U- Um… no?" The man's grin didn't falter, though the gleam in his eye clearly looked as if he was in on a joke that just went over Jaune's head.

"Well, it's come to my attention that one of your team mates is having trouble keeping awake! You wouldn't want to be late to class, now would you? Let me help with this." Not waiting for an answer, he brushed past Jaune and entered the room.

Pulling out a large cup with the words 'Team Gulp' on the side, he set it down on the bedside table. Taking a bucket of water that had magically appeared at his side, he turned it upside down over Nora's head, soaking her in freezing cold water.

" _Aaaah!_ " Nora's rage-filled scream echoed through the halls of Beacon academy, causing students everywhere to dive to the ground in case she was headed their way. " _Who's spine am I removing with their own weapon!?_ " She screeched.

"Oh good, you're awake." Chaos commented, completely unfazed by the bloodthirsty cry of the soaking wet girl. "While you're up, drink this. It'll help keep you going through the day."

Suspicious of him, Nora took the cup from his hands. "What's in this?"

"That, my dear girl, is 128 ounces- one _gallon_ \- of _condensed_ '5-hour energy'. I filled it to the brim, evaporated the liquid to leave just the powder behind, then filled it again with more of the stuff. I did that twice. Before you drink it, be sure to shake _really_ well- otherwise the powder will all clump at the bottom and you'll need to eat it. It's so saturated no more of the powder can dissolve."

Nora stared at in as if were the Holy Grail, while the rest of her team gazed upon it in horror, not fully believing that even someone as crazy as Chaos would really unleash Nora upon the world with this concoction. "Are you sure I'll even _survive_ drinking this?" The hammer-wielder asked.

"Yeah… like, 95 percent sure."

Needing no more encouragement, the girl brought the massive cup to her lips and began to gulp it down. Her team turned and ran out of the room, shouting warnings to anyone who could hear as they went. When Nora lowered the now empty container from her mouth, her pupils were the size of pins and her entire body vibrated quickly enough that a light humming could be heard.

"Wowthisstuffisso _cool_ Chaoswhere'dyougetitnevermindI'lljustcheckValemyselfandpicksomemoreupIonlyhavetosearchacouplehundredsquaremilesIcancoverthatafterclassanywaysseeyoulaterpalIgottagettomyclassesforthedayorJaunewillbemadbye!"

With that, the girl rocketed down the hall too fast for Chaos to even noticed she started moving before he could hear see a pink streak shoot across Beacon outside. He cackled to himself. "Oh, yes… this will be easier than I thought."

* * *

"Do you think Glynda will blame us for Nora being absent if we say it's Chaos's fault?" Jaune asked just before a pink tornado flew past them and into the classroom. The three members of JNPR stood in shock for a moment before Ren asked a better question. "Do you think Goodwitch will blame us for Nora being _present_ if we say it's his fault?"

The three first-years entered the class and sat next to their hyperactive teammate. Her leg was bouncing up and down so quickly, she was beginning to leave an indent in the floor. Glynda came around the room, placing test booklets and answer sheets on the desks in front of each student. "Attention students," their professor called from the front of the classroom, "you will have an hour to complete the exam. Once you are done, please turn it in on my desk and leave quie-"

" _DoneI'mdoneIfinishedcanIgonowhere'smypaperseeyoulaterI'mgoingtolookforsomethingfuntodomaybeI'llaskChaoshehaslotsofgoodideasseeyoulater!_ " The pink whirlwind from before returned as the Valkyrie bolted to the front of the class and then out the door in just seconds.

Goodwitch looked down at the answer sheet in front of her, and sighed. Rubbing her temples, she approached Jaune's desk. "Mr. Arc, I do not feel the need to grade this. I can only hope this is the doing of that trouble-maker that arrived recently. Please tell Miss Valkyrie that she must retake the test when she is more subdued."

Looking down at the answers Nora had turned in, Jaune slumped forward and banged his head on the table. ' _She filled in all the bubbles._ '

Jaune and his friends finished their tests and left the room after about 45 minutes, though he was pretty sure Ren and Pyrrha spent extra time checking their answers so that they didn't leave him behind. Once they got out, they started making their way back to the dorm when they noticed a huge pile of dirt in the middle of Beacon's lawn.

Walking around it, they found a large, square hole in the ground lined in tiles and concrete. "Is… is that a pool?" JNPR's leader asked incredulously.

" _It sure is!_ " Nora responded cheerfully, popping her head up from within. She climbed out of the empty pool and walked over to Chaos who was holding a fire-hose for her. She grabbed it from his hands and started walking back to the empty hole in the ground.

"Did she make this all herself?" Even Ren was surprised. "Does she have permission do make it? Did _you_ convince her to do this?" Chaos smirked mischievously.

"Yes, no, and of course! You might have noticed she's speaking at a… relatively normal speed. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to dig a 1,050 cubic foot hole in the ground. It took a lot out of her, but don't worry, I've got a contingency plan if she gets tired again." If he said anything else, it was drowned out by the roar of the fire-hose being turned on and pumping out nearly 2 gallons of water per second.

Soon enough, the pool was nearly full, and the crazed girl shut off the flow of water. Resuming his conversation with Chaos, Ren began asking more questions. "So why did you suggest a pool?"

"I'll be needing it later." Chaos answered cryptically. The pink eyed boy raised an eyebrow. "You wanted a pool, to use later, so you had her do it?"

" _Something_ like that…." The man trailed off, but Ren could tell he wasn't quite getting the pools real purpose. "Oh, by the way, that drink she had, eventually she's going to crash. And if I'm not mistaken it appears to be coming right... about… _now_."

Looking back at his partner, Ren saw Nora dragging her feet and hanging her head. Eventually, she dropped to the ground, and rolled into the pool. "Nora!" He yelled, fearing for his partner's safety, but he was beaten to it by Chaos.

"It's okay, I was prepared for her falling into the water. It pays to plan ahead!" Saying this, he plugged a bug zapper into an extension cord, then threw the device into the pool; sending electricity coursing through the water. Immediately the girl woke up and swam to the edge. Once out, the girl zipped toward her team, clearly feeling the effects of her recent exposure to electricity.

"You were prepared specifically for if she passed out and fell into the pool you convinced her to make?" Jaune asked incredulously. The infuriating man responded with a smirk, "weird, right? Most people would have to... _plan_ , that sort of thing."

Chaos's smile had somehow gotten bigger. When Nora arrived, Chaos spoke excitedly, as if talking to a dog about giving it a treat. "Did that feel good?"

" _Yeah!_ "

"Do you want your friends to feel good too!?" Jaune and the others paled at this. ' _Why does he hate us?_ '

" _Yeah!_ "

Chaos pulled a small black box from his pocket, and Ren recognized it. ' _Oh no… he's given her a dust-taser!_ '

"Get 'em, Tiger!" He yelled as his little prodigy firmly grasped her new toy.

Nora held it tenderly, pressing the button to activate it a couple times, and smiling as an arc of electricity shot across the two metal prongs. Her gaze slowly raised from the contraption to her team mates, each of whom stood a short distance from her.

"Nora, why don't you put the taser away, and we can all calm down." Pyrrha tried to diffuse the situation, but it wasn't meant to be. Any part of rational thought that lived in Nora's brain was pushed out when she had been energized to such a degree for the second time that day.

" _Why…_ " Jaune whispered, " _Why would you do this?_ "

Chaos just shrugged. "I thought it'd be funny. So far, I'm right. What do _you_ think, Nora?" The ginger girl twitched a little, but didn't respond, her eyes focused on her team like a predator waiting for its victim to flee.

Nora was gone. Right now, only an electric-powered, pancake-loving _monster_ stood in her place. Her terrifying smile had her friends frozen in place; until Jaune broke under the pressure, that is. " _Everybody run_ " he screamed in terror before bolting off to the right. Pyrrha turned around and ran, but Ren knew Nora would catch them quickly. He had to buy them some time- Nora was his friend, and his responsibility.

Instead of charging off, the ninja leapt straight at the orange-haired menace. He had expected to catch her off guard, but in her current state, she was much too fast. Dodging his first attack, the Valkyrie quickly retaliated by jabbing her weapon into Ren's side.

As he fell to the ground in uncontrollable spasms, Ren decided then and there that tasers were his least favorite weapon to face. But Nora's crusade was not over yet. Ren was already on the ground relaxing, but she had more friends to play with. ' _I wonder where they ran off to… ooh, this should help! Oh well, I can't wait to let them try this!_ '

* * *

Jaune Arc was _not_ a coward. Sure, he might be hiding in the library, terrified of a member of the team he leads, but it's not his fault. Nora was scary two times- when she was mad, and when she was hyper. The craziness in her eyes was enough to make him flee, but it was the super-strength and dust-taser that kept him in hiding.

He was alone in the room, most students were in class, and it was rare to find them in here unless a research paper had been assigned. Currently hiding behind the shelves on the upper level of the building, Jaune planned on waiting for a few hours to let the hammer wielder work off her newfound energy.

Then, the door opened.

The silence had been comforting, it meant he was alone –and therefore- safe. _This_ meant that someone was in the library with Jaune, and knowing his luck, they planned on electrocuting him.

His suspicions were confirmed shortly thereafter when he caught the sound of his friend saying "Jaune? Oh Jaaaune? I have something I want to shooow yooou!" in a sing-songy voice. It was horrifying.

The sound of her footsteps echoed through the large room, Jaune cowered in fear behind the bookshelf. Nora called out, "Jaune, I know you're in here, I just want to let you try this! It feels amazing, I think I might go make a hot-tub next to the pool once I'm done! It'll be awesome!"

' _She's bluffing,_ ' the blonde thought to himself, ' _there's no way she could know I'm in here, right?_ ' The boy sat completely still, not moving a muscle for fear of alerting her to his presence. All of that went out the window with just four words.

"Oh, _there_ you are!"

JNPR's leader screamed in terror, and leapt to his feet. It was then that he saw Nora on the other side of the room, smiling smugly. ' _She didn't see me at all… I feel like such an idiot._ ' The Valkyrie ran over to her friend, grinning widely as he tensed in anticipation of the pain. ' _That was one of the stupidest things I could have done… I deserve this._ '

* * *

' _Two down, one to go._ ' The hammer-wielder thought happily as she skipped toward Pyrrha. Her team may have run across the school, but they forgot to turn off their scrolls- finding them was easy. The champion was currently in some teacher's classroom, Nora didn't know which, but that wouldn't stop Nora. Her friends deserved to have fun and relax too, class or no!

Skipping merrily through the halls, occasionally jolting an unsuspecting familiar face, Nora approached the room that Pyrrha was hiding in. Kicking the door open, the orange haired girl cheered, "Pyrrha, your turn!"

Looking around, she saw her team mate, standing beside Professor Port. "Miss Valkyrie, I understand that you and Pyrrha have a slight disagreement to address." The hyperactive girl hesitated, unwilling to leap at her partner when she might accidentally hit the teacher.

"No, sir! I just wanted to show her how fun this is! She's being a baby about it, but once she tries it she'll see how great it feels!" The girl explained in what she was sure was a sound argument.

"But that is not what she wants." The old man said. "Maybe she would enjoy it, however unlikely, but that does not matter. If someone is uncomfortable with something, you cannot force it upon them. You may be a defender of Remnant, but you are still a child; and as one, you must learn many lessons beyond the classroom. Miss Valkyrie, it is crucial that you learn other people's boundaries, and respect them. For as a huntress, it is your duty to ensure-"

* * *

Nora hit the ground with a dull thud, fast asleep.

"That was amazing, Professor! How did you do that?" Pyrrha asked in awe.

The rotund teacher chuckled. "My dear girl, that is my semblance. I am capable of lulling almost anything to sleep, given the chance. Do you really think that I don't notice my classes falling asleep? I am keeping my skills honed, always practicing in case my talents are needed! How else would I capture Grimm with such ease? Hopefully, when she wakes up, she won't remember that any of this happened, and you can all return to your normal routines."

Pyrrha nodded in understanding, before her face scrunched up I confusion. "But… wait, if you know your lectures are putting us to sleep, then you know you're not actually teaching anything. Why haven't you been replaced with someone who actually does their job?"

Port paused for a moment. "You see, when I was a young lad-"

*Thud*

"Phew, that was too close."

The room grew brighter suddenly, and the professor turned around. The plot hole was slowly growing larger, before it stopped, only marginally wider. "That... that does not bode well."

* * *

 **Okay, there we go! Chapter 2, down! Remember, the characters will generally be more normal than this, unless the premise is specifically that their personalities are changed in some manner.**

 **Now, I'm sorry this took so long, but I promise you this: I will have some special things ready for my profile's anniversary on November 13th, and Hollow Fragment's 1 year anniversary on December 21st!**

 **Now, with that out of the way, remember 2 things. You can request chapters, and you can guess when the next one will be! Here's a relatively easy one for you.**

 **Next chapter: "The Varying Wizards of Oz"**


	3. The Varying Wizards of Oz

**Sorry about the wait, everyone. I've just been very busy, and I don't expect that to change any time soon unfortunately. Still, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I think this is a better indicator of how my story will be. Downright impossible scenarios** **made possible by the plot hole messing with the people of Remnant.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3: The Varying Wizards of Oz

Professors Ozpin, Goodwich, Oobleck, and Port all stood around the swirling vortex that had come to be called 'the plot hole'. They were currently discussing the recent development that had occurred. "And you say that you watched it grow?" the headmaster asked Port.

"Indeed. I'd just subdued the rampaging student, and made quite the inspiring speech about responsibility to her might I add, when- Oh wake up Barty, I'm not _that_ bad!" shaking the dozing huntsman awake, Port continued. "As I was saying, the plot hole began to grow. It hasn't increased in size greatly, but my instincts told me this was most important, so I came directly to you!"

Ozpin pondered what it could mean, and stepped closer to the plot hole. As he did, the old man heard a faint sound, as if someone was whispering to him. "Ozpin?" Goodwitch asked, concern evident on her face, but fell quiet when her boss held his hand up. He drew closer still, he could _almost_ understand it. The voice was quiet, repeating a single word over and over again. ' _What is it saying? What could it mean?_ '

 _So close_! It felt as if it was _just_ beyond his understanding, _just_ too quiet! Coming closer and closer, Ozpin could feel that he was on the brink of hearing it. "Ozpin!?" the combat instructor called again, this time silenced with a "shh" from the man. Nearly touching the plot hole, Ozpin's eyes widened in surprise when he finally understood the mysterious voice.

" _Gotcha."_

Ozpin's stomach churned as he was pulled forward into the void. His colleagues were unable to catch him before he disappeared fully. "Headmaster!" Glynda cried, moving to enter the plot hole as well, before her was held back by Oobleck.

"Professor Goodwitch, we know not what is on the other side of that portal. If the professor can return, he will. If not, none of us would be able to either- we cannot go in after him safely!" The plot hole swelled to a new size, before a man with a green suit and grey hair tumbled out of it.

"See? There was nothing to-" Then another man, identical, fell out and landed on top of the first. "I stand corrected." Again, another emerged from the plot hole, and another after that.

One minute, and three additional Ozpins later, the plot hole ceased to create more headmasters. "This may be a larger issue than I'd first anticipated," Doctor Oobleck noted.

* * *

"Okay, seven Ozpins… I'm not sure how to react to this." Goodwitch stated as she watch the new arrivals pull themselves off the floor. One of them looked as shocked as she was, and moved to stand beside her. Oobleck inspected the clones closely.

"Simply amazing! They are all physically identical to the headmaster we know! I wonder if they are the same in personality as well." One of the copies who stood before him shouted in indignation. "I am no subject to be observed and questioned! Kneel before me, you pathetic servant, and I may show mercy!"

The room was silent for a moment, before the doctor spoke up again. "Evidently not."

"Well, that seems like a bit of a problem," one of the other Ozpins said, "you should probably get on that Glynda. I'm going for a coffee, Bartholomew, care to join me?" The hyperactive professor normally would have, but this was so much more interesting, he couldn't accept.

"I know! We should lock him up and question him with our most effective torture methods until we can ascertain his plans!" Yet another exclaimed. "One of you, prepare a cell for him, I'll get… _the country music CDs!_ "

One more clone spoke up, "you guys do that, I have some _matchmaking_ to do. Imagine the next generation of hunters, if only we could get the greatest students of our time to start families together- we could end the Grimm threat forever!"

Goodwitch narrowed her eyes. If he was really suggesting what she thought he was, this headmaster was going to be at the top of her watch-list. "Not to bother any of you," said the professor beside the rest of Beacons staff- Goodwitch assumed this was the original Ozpin, "but has anyone noticed that one of me has yet to get up?"

Looking down beneath the plot hole, there lied the still form of the headmaster. "Uh oh. This one's dead. Someone slit his throat!" The Ozpin who'd noticed this covered his mouth with his hands. "One of us is a _murderer!_ "

All eyes turned to the first Ozpin who had spoken, the one with the aggressive attitude. "Oh do shut up you blithering idiot. He was dead when we arrived, I had nothing to do with it."

"I hate to interrupt, but _what is going on right now!?_ " Port bellowed, finally fed up with the situation around him. He was a huntsman for Dust's sake, he didn't sign up to deal with this insanity! The final, and so far silent, Ozpin stepped into the middle of the room.

"It would appear that through some process, we have all been brought to this world from our own. In each universe of ours, we are different, and now that we are in one place, it is causing much confusion. I suggest some manner of distinguishing one-another." Walking over to Port's desk, he pulled out a stack of name tags and a pen.

He returned to his position, and held the items out for Goodwitch to take. "Seeing as how we can only be distinguished by our personalities, and to each of us we are our normal selves, it is up to a third party to decide what attribute best describes each of us."

Nodding, Goodwitch wrote down her impressions of each Ozpin, and went around handing them the name tags to place above their left breast. In the order they had spoke, she wrote down the adjectives. _Evil, lazy, insane, creepy, normal, and calm._ As she'd expected, a couple of them had comments for her.

"Creepy? I'm not creepy! I simply want to see love blossom, even if it means making two students realize just how much they love each other."

"Are you going to put a name tag on the dead one? What if someone tries to impersonate him!"

"But… he's dead." Oobleck responded in confusion.

"Exactly! It's the last thing we would expect! Also, I resent being called insane."

Goodwitch sighed. "You thought we should torture someone with music." When she said this, the man looked her in the eye with a dead serious expression on his face.

"No, I don't believe we should _ever_ do that to a person, I only believed that we _had_ to, for the safety of Remnant. It is a burden I was willing to bear, but do not presume I took that matter lightly, or that it was a desirable option. I felt it was our _only_ option."

"Rrrr." Goodwitch was very tired of these imposter Ozpins already, the only one who she would call bearable was Calm. So long as she could keep them together in this room, she had equal chances of returning them to wherever they came from and _killing_ one of them.

That, however, mattered little as her worst fear was soon realized. Insane Ozpin stood up, stretched, and walked toward the door. "Well, I'm off to run my school. Anyone care to join me?" With that, he and four others left the classroom, leaving only the original staff members and Calm Ozpin.

"Professor Goodwitch, I know that you want to round them up and bring them back here, but until you know how to send us all back, it will be fruitless. We _must_ find out how to fix this before you can go after all of them." The calm and wise duplicate said.

A knock at the door drew their attention, as Nora Valkyrie stepped in. "Uh… I was coming by to say sorry to Professor Goodwitch for causing so many problems yesterday, Renny said it would be the polite thing to do, but I just saw a bunch of Ozpins run out of here so I think I should come back when you're less busy."

"Actually, Miss Valkyrie, I could use your help." The combat instructor said, raising a hand to stop the girl from leaving. "Do you have any idea where Chaos is? We need to ask him a question." The hammer-user let out a 'hmmm', before snapping her fingers. "I think I can get him for you, I'm starting to get the hang of this new semblance stuff!"

Clearing her throat, the girl said dramatically, "Things couldn't possibly get worse." As she said this, a light fixture fell from the ceiling and smashed professor Port in the head, causing him to let out a pained cry. Laughing awkwardly, Nora said, "oops, still working out the finer details."

Trying again in the same tone of voice, now with the rotund man watching for any falling objects, Nora exclaimed, "The only way things could get worse was if Chaos came by to rub it in!" The door swung open.

"Helloooo! Did I just see several headmasters on their way to sow chaos and destruction throughout the school?"

"Ah, see, the problem with the first one was I wasn't specific enough. You learn something new every day!" Nora explained cheerfully.

* * *

"Yes, it _is_ hilarious, Chaos. It's _incredibly_ funny." Glynda said the words begrudgingly. She had realized the only way to get Chaos to cooperate with you was to humor him. "My school being thrown into chaos by a group of identical Ozpins _is_ ironic." She winced as she described the situation as such, despite not being ironic in the slightest. ' _Anything to get this moron to tell me how to return them to where they came from.'_

Chaos finished laughing, wiped a tear from his eye, and stood up to leave. "Wait, before you leave, tell me how to get rid of these imposters."

"Oh, simple, just have them walk back through the portal in the order they entered." Glynda froze and stared at the man ahead of her who was now smirking. "Ever heard of Occam's Razor? The correct answer is often the simplest one... well, that's paraphrasing it, but close enough."

Something still felt off to Goodwitch, and it was something very easily identified. "Why did you tell me so quickly? No jumping through hoops, no payment, nothing- it's not like you." Again, that ever-present smirk grew on Chaos's face.

"Because I know how this ends. I know _exactly_ what will happen, and let me tell you, _that_ is well worth the price of helping you without repayment." Turning to face her, the smile on her new nemesis's face was borderline malevolent. "Simply put, you will fail, and I can't wait to see it with my own eyes."

Crossing her arms over her chest, the combat instructor glared at him. "Oh? And how would you know the future?"

"Silly Glynda," Chaos chided, "I thought you'd learned than to ask questions like that by now." With that, he left Goodwitch to think over what he'd said.

Turning to her associates, she started handing out orders. "Peter, Bart, you two keep the school in working order, and try to limit any damage these lunatics cause. Ozpin stay behind and keep watch over the ones we get back here. Once they're all together, we can send them home."

Realizing that there was already one imposter Ozpin here she could trust, Goodwitch dished out one final request. "Actually, Calm, would you mind tracking down Lazy? You seem to be rather level-headed, and he should be the easiest to convince. I trust that you'll come back of your own accord, and that you're capable of persuading him to do so as well."

After receiving nods from her fellow staff, Glynda created a mental list of all the Ozpins she had to collect, and the order in which she should get them.

First up was the evil one. Of all the arrivals, he was the only downright dangerous one. The others could be frustrating or annoying, but it seemed his only mission was to cause as much damage as possible before leaving.

Next would be Insane, Glynda didn't trust him, and he was certainly the most unpredictable of their group. She had little doubt he'd do whatever was necessary to hang around and annoy her for the fun of it.

Finally, she would go after creepy Ozpin. He seemed… mostly harmless, just weird and inappropriate. Glynda doubted he'd be able to culture any relationships between students in such a short amount of time, but he was still an issue to be dealt with.

All that left was Calm who was going to get Lazy, the original Ozpin, and the corpse in the corner. ' _I don't want to think about the world that one came from,_ ' the witch thought with a shudder. So long as she reached them all in time, this crisis could be managed easily.

* * *

Evil only had a short amount of time to cause pain and suffering in this universe. As to why, well his motivation wasn't ever fully developed; but he was sure it would be something _ingenious_ when the writer got around to that part.

To cause serious damage, Ozpin needed to destroy a valuable asset. He just so happened to know about a certain Fall Maiden that he'd kept in a vault. In his world, he had been planning to find a way to take the powers, despite not being a woman. Sure being called maiden wouldn't be ideal, but the raw _power_ he would hold outweighed any other consequence.

If his theory was correct, this world's Ozpin would have her there as well, though most likely for some noble purpose. _'Ugh.'_

It wouldn't take that annoying assistant of Ozpin's long to figure out his first target would be the most powerful asset on the school's grounds, so he had to work quickly. Reaching the pod, he began typing in the control console, searching for a way to remove Amber from this world.

"Life support… life support… where are you?" As if in answer to his rhetorical question, the screen displayed the woman's vitals, and the different measures in place to keep her stable. "Ahhh, there we go."

Pulling up a blueprint of the device, Ozpin located a few key parts to sabotage, and was preparing to dismantle the machine when an angry combat professor entered the hall and stormed toward him.

"Oh… Uh… Hello, Glynda dear. I was just checking this equipment to make sure that my evil duplicate had not gotten to Amber first. While _devilishly_ handsome, he must not be allowed to harm her! I will keep watch here, you track him down." Glynda crossed her arms, unimpressed.

Looking down, Ozpin remembered the presence of a certain white name tag with the word "evil" scrawled on it. "Confound this adhesive label!" the man yelled, "I can't believe that my plans were foiled by a sticker… again!"

Shrugging off the implication that an evil mastermind's plot had been undone by a sticky piece of paper once before, Goodwitch picked him up with her telekinesis and brought him back to the elevator. Struggling all the way, Evil Ozpin kept trying to find some way to cause some measure of damage to this world.

' _It would appear that this 'plot hole' is the reason behind many of their problems already. If only I could find some way to make it stronger- some way to cause more chaos, more…_ insanity _….'_ The answer came to him, it was suddenly so clear. He was going back through that portal, one way or another, but that didn't mean he couldn't leave this Remnant with a present.

He was unceremoniously deposited on the ground in the room with the plot hole, the witch responsible for the indignity storming off. As she left, Evil's smirk grew predatory, and he sat attentively and waited for the opportunity to begin the next stage of his plan.

* * *

Insane happily strolled through the school campus, looking for something fun to do. He suddenly had an idea. Practically giggling, the man rushed to the CCT and ran into his office. He took a brief moment to appreciate that, even in this world, he still had purchased a phallic chair, intentionally or otherwise. Where he came from, it was good to get a rise out of Glynda, here it was most likely just an oversight.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, the false headmaster put on a face of seriousness and horror, then began a call with one of his favorite people to annoy. "Ozpin, what is it?" General Ironwood asked, concern etched into his features when he saw the state of his friend's face.

"James! I need you to fire any dust missiles you have in range of Beacon at the coordinates I'm sending you! It is _vital_ that you do it immediately!" While some may call him crazy, Ozpin was as good an actor as he was a strategist.

"Oz, I don't have any weapons in range of-"

"Now is not the time for this, Ironwood! I know you are prepared in case I were to pose a threat to Remnant- and I commend you for that, most men could not set aside their feelings for matters such as these- but I need your cooperation, there is no time to explain!" The general looked conflicted, so Ozpin played his trump card. "Do you trust me?"

The expression James wore went from confusion, to guilt, and finally to determination. "Without a doubt. Lieutenant, fire all weapons in range to this location." Typing a few keys, the man sent her the coordinates that Ozpin had given him. "Ozpin, what is this about? What did I just destroy?"

"Let me go find out, I'll tell you when I see where they land."

"What!? Ozpin-" The call ended when Insane pressed a red button. Leaning back in his chair, Ozpin looked out over Beacon and the city of Vale. He watched as several bright streaks flew into Forever Fall Forest.

* * *

"Lieutenant, move those dust containers further apart. One idiot drops something on them, and we'll lose the whole stockpile!" Adam ordered his second-in-command. The heavily-muscled White Fang picked up one crate and started carrying it to the other side of the camp. The White Fang cell was planning on moving to a new location in Mountain Glenn soon, but Adam wasn't taking any chances, an attack now could severely deplete resources at their disposal.

"Uh, boss…" Adam growled, before turning to look at the lieutenant, "I don't think it's going to make much of a difference."

Following his gaze, the bull faunus saw five flaming projectiles coming down on them from above. _'Oh shit.'_ His ally looked toward him, hoping for something.

"Anything, sir? Any way out of this, any ' _our sacrifice will show the world humanity's true face'_ stuff, any last words? Anything at all to say?" Though he would normally spout cheesy and over-the-top speeches about their glorious uprising, their heroic actions, and the shining future they would secure for faunus everywhere, Adam was uncharacteristically quiet.

"You know, for once, I got nothin'. Sucks to be us."

* * *

"Oooh, that was very pretty. Oh, but all those environmentalists are going to be uppity now. ' _Oh, it's the only habitat left for many unique species on the planet, boo hoo._ ' They should be happy! If we can wipe out one species, then there's hope we can do it to the Grimm too!"

The elevator doors slid open to reveal a decidedly _unhappy_ Glynda Goodwitch. " _Was that an explosion!? What have you done!?_ " she screeched at Ozpin.

"Relax, I just blew up some forest, nobody died… I think. Though it did cut away from me for a second there, maybe… the point is I only do funny things. If they were heading somewhere bad, they'd have just collided in the air. Unlike the rest of you, I understand how this all works."

Though Goodwitch would normally be appreciative of someone who knew how to handle the plot hole's strange effects, the fact that it _had_ to be this moron meant he was useless. For all intents and purposes, it seemed like he was on the plot hole's side, rather than hers.

' _The plot hole's side? Since when did I start thinking of this like a war. Then again, today's seen a dead headmaster, an assassination attempt on the maiden, and now a bombing. Perhaps it is a war.'_

"Come, you. We're going to send you home, where you can torment someone else." Collecting this imposter similarly to the last one, the combat instructor left him with Evil and the original Ozpin while she went out to get the last one.

While he settled down, miffed that his only actions included annoying military personnel and a singular explosion, he felt a nudge against his arm. Turning right, he saw his villainous counterpart grinning widely.

"I have a proposition I think you'll be _very_ interested in."

* * *

Creepy had instantly made his way to the cafeteria. He stood by the back and watched over the students, before picking out a pair that seemed like close friends. _'And a very cute couple!'_

He didn't care _what_ anyone thought, he was making these kids happier. They found love, and he got the satisfaction of watching all the students in his academy walking around with smiles on their faces. Was it really creepy to want others to feel joy? He certainly didn't think so.

Waiting for them to split up, he went over to one of them, a brunette wearing some very fashionable clothes, shades, and a nice beret. It wouldn't be the first time he'd set these two up, it was one of the first he'd tried back in his world, and he couldn't wait to replicate it here. "Why hello Miss Adel, how are you today?"

"Oh, hello Professor Ozpin. Can I help you?"

"I couldn't help but notice that you enjoy spending time with Miss Scarlatina more than most partners do with each other. Usually most partners need a fair amount of time apart from one another, but you two seem inseparable."

The student looked up at him, lowering her shades to look directly at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, simply that it is good to see two students form such a close bond. It's important that everyone has someone they know will be there for them no matter what." As he walked off, the man knew he wouldn't have to wait long. While she might seem a little rough to outsiders, Coco was actually quite caring. All he'd done is simply brought her closeness with Velvet to the front of her mind, and left her to think about it.

Not too much later, Ozpin was sitting in a classroom, staring out a window at a rabbit faunus as her friend arrived to meet her. He saw some nervous shuffling, eye contact was limited to a few darting glances, and a light blush on Coco's face. He was so enraptured by the blossoming relationship, he didn't notice the doors open behind him.

"That's it Miss Adel… go tell your little 'bun bun' what you feel for her…. Ah! Glynda, I didn't see you there! You know you should _really_ go on a date with Insane me! His random quirkiness complements your no-nonsense attitude perfectly!"

"That's quite enough of that, back to the portal with you!"

As he was taken from the classroom, he smiled know he'd done a good thing. Well, he thought so at least.

When the two of them arrived back at port's classroom, (Creepy remembered him being one of the only people he just couldn't find a romantic partner for- the man was just too full of himself) they came across two more Ozpins entering the class.

"Oh good, you've found him too. Where was he, Calm?"

"He'd found the nearest dorm room, used his all-access card, and fallen asleep in some poor student's bed. He couldn't even be bothered to go back to his own room." Calm replied.

"Hey, you say lazy, I say energy-efficient!"

The four of them stepped into the classroom, and Goodwitch prepared to end this nightmare. Then, just to add to her headache before she could get rid of them, Creepy spoke up. "Um, not to bother anyone, but there seem to be _two_ dead Ozpins now. Could someone check that out? I want to make sure it wasn't one who was in a shipping chart of mine." Sure enough, a second corpse littered the floor, this one with a broken neck.

Growling, she looked over to the three Ozpins, well… two now, who had been alone. "Yes, about that. Evil killed Insane shortly after you left." The one with the "original" name tag said.

As morally wrong as murder was, Glynda just couldn't find it in herself to blame the man.

To start off the return of the Ozpins, Goodwitch used her semblance to push the first dead body through. Then she… encouraged… Evil to walk through. Then Lazy stepped through, and was quickly followed by another levitating dead body. Creepy too was forcibly removed, and finally Calm stepped into the plot hole, waving goodbye to the poor woman.

Sighing, Glynda sat down, thoroughly exhausted from hunting down all of the imposters. But duty called, and Professor Port suddenly stepped through the doors, Cardin Winchester being led in behind him. "Sorry to add to your busy schedule, but Mr. Winchester was recently caught making fun of Velvet Scarlatina. Apparently not only for her race, but also for her new relationship with her partner."

Glynda slammed her forehead against the desk she was seated at. Luckily, Ozpin laid a hand on her should and smiled down at her compassionately. "Don't worry, Glynda, you've done enough for one day. I'll take care of this." Smiling gratefully, Goodwitch closed her eyes for a moment and simply relaxed.

"Now then, Mr. Winchester, you should know that bullying and discrimination are strictly prohibited. I'm afraid you're going to have to listen to some 'Spice Girls' music for transgressions such as these."

Glynda's eyes snapped open.

Standing up shakily, she staggered back. "You… no! It's you, the insane one, you're still here! Oh Dust, that means that Ozpin's dead!" The smile on his face widened.

"Nonsense, Glynda. That's ridiculous. After all, what kind of moron would try to impersonate a dead man?"

* * *

 **And we're done! That was fun, wasn't it? So now you see how this is going to start going off on a tangent away from the story quickly. Ozpin's been replaced by a lunatic, Coco and Velvet are together now, and Adam (or at least his operation) has been blown to pieces, as to whether he's really dead, even I don't know yet!**

 **Anyways, it's nearly my account's anniversary, November 13th (P.S. coincidentally, 13 is my luck number, I didn't realize what day it was when I started this account), and I've got a one-shot coming out that day that I have all written and ready for publishing! Follow my account if you want to be notified about it!**

 **Now this chapter was inspired by all of those fanfictions where Ozpin is just messing with people, or he's evil, or he's basically Jesus and is as good a fighter as he is wise. Eventually I wondered what would happen if all these different ones came together, and this was the result. There were a few more fourth wall breaks in there, and many more are on their way!**

 **Next chapter: "Spoiler Alert"**

 **Oh, and as a gift, here is my first omake ever. I don't know that I'll do more of these, but I felt like this one worked here.**

* * *

 **Omake:**

It had only been a short while since Professor Ozpin had disappeared into that strange vortex, and already Glynda's thirty-year migraine had begun to recede. Her face changed to one of abject horror when another bright flash filled the room. "Dear dust, he's back! _No!_ "

Looking down, however, she found her boss to be still on the floor. Upon closer inspection, she found him to be _dead_.

Her laughter was quiet, at first. A giggle, nothing more than that, but it soon turned into a roaring laughter that any passerby would deem the maniacal cackling of a madwoman. Through the laughter, she managed to joyously repeat a single word, tears of joy spilling from her eyes.

" _Freedom!"_


	4. Spoiler Alert

**Well, that was a long-ass wait, wasn't it guys? Here's what happened: I had to do some re-planning for Hollow Fragments, then write that chapter. After that was done, I had to move onto this, all the while dealing with the holidays which are a minefield of opportunities to get lazy and fall behind on writing. Blah blah blah, you don't care, onto the chapter.**

 **As you wish. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4: Spoiler Alert

One week. It had been one week since he had entered this world through the Plot Hole. In that time, he had responsible for many headaches, a few minor emotional breakdowns, and the death (and subsequent replacement) of one excellent headmaster. There was little doubt that his arrival had caused many problems, and the only benefit Beacon had to show for it was the construction of a pool in the middle of campus.

' _Well, that changes today._ ' With the biggest obstacle to his plans, Ozpin, replaced by a much more willing accomplice, Chaos could really get down to work. ' _It's time for a little community service._ '

Stepping into the CCT tower's elevator, he pressed the button for Ozpin's office. When the doors opened, he approached the man behind the desk. The current headmaster was leaning forward in his seat, staring intently at the screen before him. "Hard at work?" Chaos asked.

"Indeed, never before have I been so tested by a foe of mine." The insane duplicate of Ozpin replied. "Still, there are some things worth fighting for- I cannot lose this battle."

Able to see the back of the holographic projections, Chaos could easily tell what the headmaster was doing when he got to the desk. He was playing chess online. "I'm not sure Glynda would call that hard work."

"That is because only a true master can fully appreciate a game such as this. Now please, be quiet. I'm in the process of making a tactical decision which could well swing the whole game my way." Chaos looked at him skeptically, Ozpin only had his king left, and it was just about trapped.

"Ozpin, you've lost. There's only one move you can make, then he puts you in checkmate."

"Admittedly, at first glance that is indeed the way it looks." Ozpin countered. "What you're failing to take into consideration is that my opponent here, one Professor Oobleck, has a class beginning in four minutes and thirty seconds." Grinning smugly, the grey-haired man continued. "And if he goes before the game is concluded, I win by default. Four minutes and twenty five seconds!"

' _Oh he's good. Very good.'_ "Well, what if I told you there was something else to do right now? Something much more interesting." At this, Ozpin tore his eyes from the positively _riveting_ game of chess to face Chaos.

"And what would that be?"

* * *

"What are we doing here in the student dorms?" The headmaster inquired. "Normally I make it a point to avoid this part of the school- entirely too many students here. We're not going to have to talk with any of them, are we?"

Chaos chuckled mirthfully. "Don't be concerned, you won't have to worry about that." As they turned the corner, the two men saw many hunters and huntresses in training walking about the hall. Each carried luggage, as well as their scroll-each searching for their temporary rooms.

"Allow me to introduce to you, Professor Ozpin, the talented representatives from Haven Academy in Mistral!" He proclaimed with a flourish. While the older man appreciated the enthusiasm, he couldn't keep a look of hurt from flashing across his face.

"You lied to me…."

"No, I hold that my earlier promise remains true- you will not have to speak with any students. Now come along, there are some unwelcome visitors attending the Vytal Festival. I think it's high time we introduced ourselves to them."

Before they reached their destination, a thought occurred to Ozpin. "Would you care to explain why the students visiting for the Vytal Festival Tournament have arrived early in our first term? They shouldn't have arrived for months."

Nodding in agreement, Ozpin's escort replied sympathetically. "Yes, time is a rather strange thing with the Plot Hole influencing your world so strongly. For example: Later today, General James Ironwood will have arrived nearly a month ago. Understand?"

Ozpin nodded his head slowly. "…. No."

"Oh, look at that, here we are. Room 205, why don't we greet some of our guests?" The younger of the two knocked lightly twice, then waited for it to open. When it did, the pair were faced with a grey-haired boy in black and silver clothing. "Hello! Mercury Black, I presume? Is the rest of your team here?"

Looking suspiciously at the strange man before him, the supposed student shook his head. "Oh, excellent! That makes our job so much easier!"

*THWACK*

Ozpin stood in silence, his gaze shifting from the motionless student on the ground, to the one who just forcefully ushered him from consciousness with a frying pan, and back again. "Mister Chaos, while I can certainly appreciate the art of clubbing one's students like Atlesian seals, I feel the need to ask why you chose this one in particular. That blue-haired one in the hall we saw seemed like he would be much more satisfying to bludgeon- what makes this young man special?"

"Well, for starters, he's not actually a student. He and his 'team' are really just infiltrating Beacon disguised as Haven exchange students. They prove to be a very dangerous group if left unchecked. Therefore, I have decided that as an act of charity, from which I _absolutely_ do not benefit personally, I will help you handle this security risk!"

Ozpin hummed thoughtfully. "I see. You have yet to make good on your promise, however. At what point does this become more interesting than watching the increasingly desperate messages from Oobleck requesting that I make my move?"

Chaos smiled and held out the frying pan in both hands as if it were a holy artifact. "You get to _apprehend_ the rest of them."

"Hmm, it seems great minds think alike. On another note, are we just going to ignore the fact you haven't answered my question about the time anomalies?"

"Really, it's best just not to ask."

* * *

' _Has the world gone mad?_ '

This question had plagued General Ironwood since he'd been tricked into demolishing a small patch of forest. Though Ozpin frustrated him at times, never before had he been led astray by the man. His old friend had been by his side through thick and thin, always doing what he felt was right. While many questioned his methods, and it was difficult to see from his point of view at times, Ironwood held no man on Remnant in higher esteem than Beacon's headmaster.

That was, however, until he'd watched his friend casually dismiss his demands for an answer regarding his actions by simply saying he had none. It just wasn't like Ozpin to do this sort of thing. He would be vague and mysterious, sometimes borderline manipulative, but he always had his reasons and would explain himself when needed to.

As his ship made its final descent onto the landing pad, Specialist Winter Schnee approached him. "Sir, more news on Ozpin, this information just came in." She held out a folder.

The general accepted it, turning it over in his hands, wondering what could be inside. "Good news, I hope. I've never had to doubt my friend like this before- I'm not sure if I could handle more insanity from him."

Winter gently grabbed the folder and tried to take it back. "Um.. well… actually, sir, you may _not_ want to read that. It's… uh… outdated."

"Didn't you say it "just came in"?" He responded with an eyebrow raised. "Winter, I'll be fine. If he's done something wrong, it is vital that I know about it." Flipping it open, the general began to read. "Besides, it's still Ozpin. What could he have possibly-"

* * *

The headmaster of Beacon Academy stared at the Atlesian fleet that was holding position over Beacon and Vale. Glynda stood in the corner, working on her scroll as the pair waited for the headmaster of Atlas Academy to arrive.

When he finally did, the light chime of the doors opening was drowned out by the angry roar of their visitor. "Ozpin! You've gone too far this time!" At the outburst, Goodwitch stepped in between the elevator and the desk. Ozpin lazily turned around in his chair, swiveling to watch the two speak.

"James! Calm down! What has gotten into you!?" The combat instructor demanded furiously.

Though he couldn't make out most of their conversation, he enjoyed it nonetheless- particularly when Ironwood brought up his latest complaint. "He did what!?"

Storming over to him, his colleague stuck the tip of her riding crop just beneath his chin. "You kidnapped a team from Haven!? Headmaster, what is the meaning of this!?"

"Glynda, it's actually rather simple if you would allow me to explain my actions." Clearing his throat, he continued. "Chaos informed me that they are not in fact students, but rather assassins, thieves, and criminals allied with Roman Torchwick, the White Fang, and the Grimm to bring about the demise of humanity."

The room was filled with an oppressive silence. Despite her barely-contained rage, Glynda managed to whisper out, "and you believed him?"

"I won't lie, it sounded a lot better before I said it out loud."

Rubbing her temples in frustration, Goodwitch tried to keep her cool despite this unacceptable lack of judgment demonstrated by her superior. "Where are they, Professor? What have you done with the kidnapped students?" she asked exhaustedly.

"They're currently in the infirmary." Glynda nearly breathed a sigh of relief, before she remembered with whom she was speaking.

"They're not receiving treatment for their injuries, are they?"

"No they are not."

"And what exactly are they in the school's medical facility for?"

Ozpin remained quiet, internally debating whether it would be less painful to tell her the truth, or to leap out of his window and make a run for it. "Now before you judge my decision, understand I believed I was dealing with dangerous terrorists."

"Oh dust…."

* * *

"No, no, no! This one goes there, that one goes there! Right?" Upon entering the school's infirmary, the trio found Chaos ordering around the medical staff who were carrying around unmarked boxes. Stomping over to him, Ozpin's two associates began to berate him furiously.

"You! You were the one who convinced Ozpin to do this!?"

"What did you do to him!?

"What are you planning!?

"What did you stand to gain by blowing up part of Forever Fall!?

All the while, the man simply smiled smugly, the self-satisfaction positively _radiating_ off him. "Now, now, please compose yourselves. I assure, I have a perfectly rational explanation for all of this. Not that I will give it to you, but it exists. Now, to the matter at hand, I can see you are… skeptical about my claims regarding these four. Worry not!"

Turning to Beacon's headmaster, he held out his hand. "Your scroll, if you please," he politely requested. Upon receiving the item, he opened it and went straight to the contacts section. Chaos called a number, and set it to video chat.

After several rings, the person on the other side picked up. "Oz, what the hell do you want? Don't you know it's the middle of night in Mistral?" Upon seeing who had called him, Qrow Branwen blinked in confusion. "You're not Oz…."

"Very perceptive." Glynda snapped from behind him.

"Hey, I'm tired… and maybe a little drunk… give me a break."

"Hmm, we'll address your alcoholism later. For now, could you identify these four lovely individuals?" He turned the camera to face the unconscious 'students' from Haven. "Recognize any of 'em?"

"Hey, yeah! Those are the ones who attacked Autumn… and some ice-cream girl…." He exclaimed in surprise. "Son of a bitch, you got them! Where were they?"

"Beacon."

The huntsman stared at the screen in silence, his the gears in his mind trying to process what he'd just heard. "So, the three who attempted to kill the Fall Maiden were at _Beacon, like, the school?_ "

"That would be correct, they were posing as students."

"Huh," Qrow shook his head slowly, "I'm too tired to deal with this shit. Call me tomorrow- not too early, the last thing my hangover will need is having to deal with Jimmy over there." With that, the drunk terminated the call, and Chaos returned the scroll to Ozpin.

"See? Just because nothing good _has_ come of my presence, doesn't mean nothing good _can_ come of my presence! I'm just trying to help out!" He batted his eyes at the three. Goodwitch wasn't sure if he was actually trying to feign innocence, or if he found it amusing to be this blatant with his sarcasm.

"Now, killing them would be awfully rude, and it doesn't sound like something a person with such a strong moral fiber as I would do; so, I've devised a new solution!" Sweeping his arms out to the sides, he gestured to the boxes by each patient. "I've managed to get my hands on some lovely, questionably legal, drugs! Just stab one of these syringes into each of these _dangerous criminals_ , and you don't have to worry about them ever fighting again! No aura, no semblances, nothing!"

They all gasped at this- aura and semblances were a hunter's greatest weapons. If one could deprive any person of those with a single injection from such a syringe… it could be devastating in the wrong hands! "Where did you get these!?"

"Not important. Besides, these are the only ones in existence, and they're only around for this chapter anyways! After that they'll just vanish into the shadow dimension along with all the other plot points inconvenient to me." Ironwood began to protest, raising his arm, but Glynda laid a hand on his shoulder.

"It's… it's just not worth it. He'll just infuriate you until you storm off, and even if you can resist the urge to _kill_ him, there's no way you're getting a straight answer out of him."

"Hey, look at that! Barely a week and you're already adjusting- told you guys you'd get used to me!" Chaos clapped happily, clearly pleased with himself. "Now, let's get this stuff inside them, and Beacon will get its first 'janitorial team'!"

"We already have janitors."

"Yes, but do you have four combat-trained, criminals working together to purge Beacon of every speck of filth? I didn't think so. Begin the treatment!"

The medical staff just went along with his insanity. Ozpin hadn't objected- nobody had- and if these people really were dangerous, it was the right choice. "Have these drugs undergone animal testing?"

"Dust no, I love animals! I'd never put this crap in them, they don't deserve that!"

"Just a moment." Ozpin turned to look at Chaos. "I'm not going to have to do another naming ceremony for these four, am I?"

* * *

"Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, and Neopolitan… uh… Neopolitan. The four of you done fucked up. From this day forward, you will work together –for minimum wage- as Team CMSN, led by-"

In the middle of his speech, the holographic board blinked red. This drew the attention of all five people on the stage. After a short delay, the screen was again briefly tinted red, with a black chess piece in the middle. Two more flashes, and suddenly the 'S' beneath Emerald's name became an 'E'.

"Uh… I stand corrected. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CMEN, led by- oh come on Chaos, this is petty, even by my standards- led by Cinder Fall."

Sighing, enjoying this almost as little as the four criminals currently glaring balefully at him, Ozpin ended the mockery of his speech. "This is shaping up to be an… interesting year."

* * *

 **Tell me what you though about this!**

 **Seriously, do, reviews are what fuel me. I really like criticism and corrections, plain old "good jobs" or funny comments are also appreciated, and I'm still taking suggestions for chapters (if I like the idea, and by now you should have figured out what type of chapters I'm writing).**

 **Thanks for your patience, and as soon as I've got the next Hollow Fragments out, I'm getting started on an idea that I've really wanted to do- one that's just a nice chapter without any real insanity behind it.**

 **Next chapter: Phoenix Weiss: Fake Attorney**


	5. Phoenix Weiss: Fake Attorney

**Hey, this didn't take _absolutely_ forever! Only a _really_ long time! Go me!**

 **So this is based on the Phoenix Wright games, and therefore so is its justice system. This means it's less like actual court than a TV show's depiction of it. I am aware of how it works (in the US, at least), so don't go yelling about how there's no jury or this was ridiculous.**

 **Phoenix Wright used a crazy man's parrot as a witness. Checkmate.**

 **Also end ANs have some important stuff, but it's fast.**

* * *

Chapter 5: Phoenix Weiss: Fake Attorney

"Nooooo! Why are you doing this!?" Ruby cried out in horror.

"Calm down, you dolt. I'm just trying to help you keep up with your classes, and falling behind on assignments is unacceptable. Writing an essay isn't that bad!" the heiress snapped back. Yang and Blake watched the two in amusement from their bunks. "You've written plenty of them this year anyway."

"..."

Weiss's eyes narrowed. "You _have_ written the essays the professors assigned, right?"

"Amuse me peasants!" The door swung open to reveal Nora standing with the rest of her team behind her. A very relieved Ruby went over to greet their visitors. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"You guys aren't going to believe this, but all classes are cancelled for today!" Nora yelled in excitement. A chorus of cheers went around the room with the exception of Weiss who was still glaring suspiciously at her partner.

"I am curious as to why the faculty decided not to hold classes today, though." Pyrrha wondered aloud.

* * *

Ozpin was in the middle of a critical research project he'd been investing quite some time in lately. Grimm were the embodiment of negative emotions, and if hunters could develop a method of destroying them without even needing to put themselves in harm's way it would go a long way to protecting humanity from their threat.

To this end he was testing whether or not he could cause Glynda Goodwitch to spontaneously combust out of pure rage.

"You lost the property rights to all our academic buildings in a game of online poker?" She said in an eerily calm voice.

"He called my bluff, but don't worry, I'll win them back! I just need some money to play. On an unrelated note, the checkmate virus in our system has changed you to an 'unpaid intern.' I like to think that guiding future generations is its own reward, don't you agree?"

* * *

"I'm sure they have a very good reason for it." Ren assured her. "This is Beacon, you don't get here by being foolish."

Ruby nodded. "Anyways, what do you guys wanna do with our day off?" Nora raised her hand and started jumping up and down exuberantly. "Is it stealing sloths from the zoo?" Nora shook her head. "Alright," RWBY's leader said happily, "what did you have in mind?"

"I made a mystery we can act out!" the valkyrie responded, pride evident in her voice. "Everyone's got their own roles, and they all have jobs to do."

Blake raised an eyebrow, mildly impressed. As a lover of books, she certainly appreciated the hard work that was put into creating a story. "When did you have the time to do this, Nora?"

"Oh, I just blew off some stupid essay and did this instead!"

Weiss started to shake with rage, so Yang cautiously laid her hands on the girl's shoulders to keep her from attacking Nora. "Well, let's get started. I want to see what she came up with."

* * *

Ten minutes later, everyone had read the sheet information they had, and the room had been re-arranged to look like a court. Near the window, the team's desk had been turned around to serve as the judge's seat, and a seat beside it was for the witnesses. The prosecution sat on Blake's bed, and the defense was on Weiss's. In the middle of the room four chairs had been set aside for the rest of the participants.

As for the story, Nora's friends were surprised to find that they were not acting as certain characters, but as themselves- though they all played certain roles. Blake would be the judge, while Weiss and Ren played the defense and prosecution attorneys respectively. Jaune, as few were surprised to learn, was the victim, and Ruby of all people was the primary suspect. Yang, Nora, and Pyrrha were various witnesses that would be called on during the trial.

"Everyone ready?" Nora asked; when she received nods, she continued. "Here's the case: Jaune and Ruby had been dating until recently, when Ruby found out that he cheated on her with Pyrrha."

"Jaune!" Ruby cried out, "How could you do that to me!?"

"I- I didn't! It's just made up, Ruby, we're not even dating. It's ridiculous, Nora even made it so Pyrrha likes me in this- it's not exactly realistic." The room turned to look at Pyrrha when they heard the sound of paper being ripped.

"Oops, silly Pyrrha," Nora said cheerfully, "you need to be more careful with your sheet. Don't worry, I have extras." Pyrrha quickly regained her composure and flashed the girl a smile.

"Thank you, Nora. How… clumsy of me." the spartan replied. _'I'm going to kill him one of these days.'_

" _Anyways_ ," Nora said, "last night I came back to the dorm at six-thirty in the evening, and found Ruby standing over Jaune's unconscious body looking furious. When he woke up, he couldn't remember what had happened- all he could remember was the color red. Ruby is being charged with the attack on him, now it's up to the lawyers to do their jobs. In the end, Blake, you'll make a decision and convict someone."

"How do we know you won't use the fact that you made this to your advantage in the trial?" Blake asked her. "After all, you know everything about this."

"When Nora gets in character," Ren interrupted, "she gets _really_ in character. She won't use any of her knowledge about it, I'm sure." Content in Ren's testimony, the faunus nodded.

"Alright, then! Let's get started." With that, Nora strolled back to her chair and plopped down in it.

Blake cleared her throat. "We are here today to determine the guilt of Ruby Rose in regards to the attack on Jaune Arc. Will prosecution attorney… Miles Rensworth?" She glanced up at Nora, "I'm not calling him that the whole time."

"Awww." Nora whined, "Will you at least use the name I made for Weiss?"

Blake scanned further down the page, and raised an eyebrow when she saw it. "Phoenix Weiss?"

The heiress cradled her head in her hands. "No, she will not be calling me that." she said in exasperation.

"Anyways," Blake continued "let's get started. I suppose it's pointless to ask, but how does the defendant plead?"

" _Not guilty!"_ Ruby yelled. Weiss flicked her on the back of the head lightly. "Sorry, not guilty." she said more subdued. The judge nodded, then turned her gaze on Ren.

"Would you like to make your opening statement?"

Standing in the center of the room, Ren spoke calmly. "Jaune Arc was attacked in his dorm at around six-thirty in the afternoon. He'd been dating the defendant until a recent fight ended their relationship. Everything we know points to her. She was first, she is more than strong enough to have done this, she has a clear motive, and her clothes and hair are both red- that color being only thing the victim can remember from the attack."

"Thank you. Is the prosecution ready to call its first witness to the stand?" The ninja nodded.

"The prosecution calls Nora Valkyrie to the stand." The hammer-wielder skipped to the chair beside Blake and took her place. "Now, Mrs. Valkyrie, will you please recount the details of the events leading up to your discovery of the crime?"

"Sure thing, Mister Rensworth!" Several members of the group moaned. "Well, like I'd told everyone during sparring class, I had to do some weapon maintenance. I was down at the workshop most of the afternoon, but I headed back to the dorm around six o'clock. When I got there, I saw someone standing over Jaune. I couldn't even tell who they were at first since it had gotten so dark, so I was really surprised when I saw it was Ruby. She looked _furious_. She has to be the one who did it!"

Blake nodded when she was finished, clearly having listened to every word. _'She's taking this awfully seriously.'_ Weiss thought to herself. "Thank you, Miss Valkyrie. Would the defense like to cross-examine the witness?"

"Yes ma'am." Rising from the bed, the ivory-haired girl thought about what to say. On their little information sheet, it was mentioned that the last place all eight of them had been together was the sparring arena during Goodwitch's class. There wasn't really much to look into from her testimony… except…. "You seem certain that it was my client who attacked Jaune. What makes you so sure she didn't just arrive there before you and was upset he'd been hurt?"

"Well the two of them always watch a movie together Friday nights. When I was coming back, I saw the light from the TV through the window."

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "But the television was off when you arrived, wasn't it? Otherwise the room wouldn't have so dark. How do you know that it was in fact the television you saw as you approached the building?"

Nora thought back to what she'd seen at the time. It wasn't something important at the time, so the details were fuzzy. "I assumed it was the TV since the light was flickering, that means that the light source was moving- you know, like a video playing on a screen."

It wasn't what Weiss had hoped for, but that trivial detail still helped her. "So you can't prove it was them watching a movie. It could have been a light bulb flickering, which might explain why it might be turned off. That means we can't be sure Ruby was in there at all." It was a weak argument, she knew, but it was important to get every advantage she could. "No further questions, your honor."

Nora went back to her chair and sat down. Blake took a couple moments to think over what she had heard so far, she looked somewhat anxious for some reason. _'It's not like this is an actual trial. What's got her so worked up?'_

"Does the defense have any witnesses it wishes to call to the stand?"

Checking her sheet, Weiss saw that she only had one witness on her side. What was worse, that witness was Yang. _'Great._ ' "The defense calls Yang Xiao Long to the stand."

Walking up to the make-shift stand, Yang faced the audience with a big smile. ' _That's probably not a good sign._ ' Yang winked at Weiss. ' _Yep, we're totally doomed._ '

"Witness, please begin your testimony." Blake said dully, it seemed the need to use formal words -in place of, well, normal human speech- was starting to wear down her enjoyment of the role.

"Sure thing, Kitten." Blake let out a noise resembling a growl, which certainly didn't help her case. "Right, so I was heading to the library- don't laugh, Ruby, I was, really! Look, I was going there after doing some exercise at the gym since I had to get a book for one of my classes, and I saw Pyrrha heading toward the dorm. I know she was with Port going over something just before that, she had mentioned that when we were sparring together, so I figured she was just getting back from that."

"Your honor, this is pointless. While it's true we know Pyrrha went to see Port earlier, unless Miss Xiao Long's testimony provides some evidence to prove Ruby's innocence, then it's a waste of our time."

Yang shook her head, chuckling softly. "Not so fast, I was just about to get to that part. Thing is, this was right around six-fifteen. If she was heading to the dorm at that time, she would have reached Jaune before Nora ever got there- so why is it she wasn't around when we found out he'd been attacked?"

' _Well, that certainly made my job easier._ ' Weiss thought to herself. "Yang, are you certain it was Pyrrha you saw?"

The blonde nodded. "I'm pretty sure; it was a little crowded, but her hair stands out a lot." Weiss's eyes widened. ' _Red hair…._ '

"I call Pyrrha Nikos to the stand!" She shouted. It was so obvious, Nora was still the hyperactive girl they all knew, any "mystery" created by her wouldn't exactly be complex or thought-provoking. There were only two girls with red hair in this whole game, and there had to be a twist. Pyrrha made her way up to the desk and took a seat.

"Pyrrha Nikos, Yang says she spotted you heading toward the dorms shortly before the attack. Do you mind telling us what you were doing at the time?" Weiss smiled, this would be over quickly. Pyrrha couldn't last forever now that Weiss knew to press her. No matter how solid her alibi would be, Weiss knew-

"I don't remember."

"... Come again?"

"I said _'I don't remember,'_ " she growled out, "alright? I don't know where I was."

Weiss, along with most of the room, was speechless. Nora giggled slightly for a moment, but quickly returned to her calm facade. "You… don't remember?" the heiress repeated, dumbstruck. ' _Of all the alibis she could have used… that's the testimonial equipment of saying your dog ate your homework._ '

"Well I think _I_ know where you were." Weiss said, recovering quickly, "You were the one who attacked Jaune, then ran off and left Ruby to take the blame!"

Pyrrha shook her head rapidly. "No! It wasn't me! Why would I have attacked him anyways? I had no reason to, he didn't do anything to me. He chose me over Ruby, why would I be mad?" Jaune tried to voice another complaint about his character's actions, but Nora slapped a hand over his mouth.

Loathe as she was to admit it, however, Weiss had to admit the invincible girl had a point. It was Ruby who'd been hurt, not Pyrrha. "Well, that's not necessarily true…." All eyes turned to Yang. "I mean, well, I heard Jaune talking about it after it happened. He said he was going to get back together with Ruby, not keep a relationship going with Pyrrha."

Pyrrha's eye twitched. ' _Even in a fictional story, Jaune still doesn't end up with her- I wonder if that's just a fundamental law of the universe._ ' "Pyrrha Nikos, I believe you were the one who attacked Jaune Arc!"

"Wait, if you'd let me just tell you-" but Weiss would not let her get in another word, she needed to keep up her momentum before Pyrrha could make any sort of defense.

"You harbored feelings for him since the day you two met, but he never noticed. Then he starts going out with Ruby, just another insult to you, but he wasn't done yet. Finally he goes out with you, after all this time you finally get your shot; but then he abruptly breaks it off and picks Ruby. To be ignored so long, then finally get what you want only for it to be yanked away from you again- you must have been furious. He'd given you a view of what could have been, only to toss you aside."

Weiss started strolling around the room as she went on, not allowing Pyrrha to interrupt her at all. "You'd finally had it with him, and you needed to make him feel as bad as you did. You went to the room when you knew he'd be alone, and then you attacked him. You, a four-time champion, easily outmatched him, arguably a walking noodle. You then left the scene, and left him to be found by his friends."

"Ruby got there first, and was furious to see what had happened to him. Nora then arrived, and misinterpreting the situation, caught Ruby. When he woke up, all he remembered was red hair- something you and Ruby share- and you thought it was over. Unfortunately for you, it wasn't so simple, and your simple 'I don't remember' response won't be enough to get you out of this. What do you have to say about that?"

"Check the infirmary."

"What?" Weiss replied, her energy leaving her in an instant.

"This is what I was trying to tell you. I don't know what I was doing, but I ended up there somehow, and I came back to the dorm as soon as I got up. You can confirm that with the nurse. I didn't know what I did to get there, my memory's fuzzy, but if I'd thought you would accuse me as the culprit I'd have mentioned the rest of it sooner."

Weiss deflated like a popped balloon. Even if it was unlikely, however, there was still a chance this was just a stalling tactic on Pyrrha's part. The defense attorney could only hope that was the case.

Nora stood up. "Okay, we're going to have a break now. Ren and Weiss come see me, you each get some time to do investigations between sessions. Blake, dismiss everyone."

Blake, who'd been sitting on the edge of her seat, nodded her head. "Alright, court is now in recess." She sighed heavily and leaned back in her chair.

Yang walked up to her. "Uh, Blakey? You okay? You seem a little… tense."

"I just really don't want to mess up, Yang! What if I charge an innocent person? I don't want to get this wrong!"

"You do know this is still just a game, right?"

Tuning out from their conversation, Weiss went up to Nora. "Hello, Nora. I suppose I should ask how to confirm whether Pyrrha's telling the truth."

"Mhmm!" the valkyrie hummed cheerfully, "you've got enough time to look at one thing before court starts again. Would you like to speak with the nurses, the teachers, the crime scene, or one of the witnesses here?"

Weiss paused. She understood why it would be beneficial to visit the nurses, crime scene, or witnesses, but why were the teachers on that list? What could they know? ' _All the same, I need to confirm where Pyrrha was._ '

"Nurses it is, I suppose." She responded.

* * *

Her nightmare had come true. Pyrrha had been in a bed during the entire timeframe the attack could have occurred within. Her one suspect, and consequently way to protect Ruby, was a bust. She didn't know what Ren would have done with his time during the break, but she could only hope it didn't make things worse.

Pyrrha had been carried in by Professor Port, claiming that she'd passed out in the middle of her visit to his office. She remembered seeing that Pyrrha had mentioned planning to meet with him in the background information of the case, but it was more than that. She had a feeling that there was something she had been missing, something important, but she just couldn't figure out what it was.

Sitting down on her bed beside Ruby, Weiss looked across the room at Ren. The boy sat opposite her, his face completely impassive. It annoyed her that she couldn't get a read on him, but there wasn't much she could do about it- he could keep a calm face after winning the lottery.

A thumbs up from Nora, and Blake cleared her throat. "The court is now in session. It is now the prosecution's turn to call up a witness. Ren-"

"Miles Rensworth!"

" _Ren_ , would you please continue?"

Ren rose from his place on the bed and spoke with what would have been a smug tone were he anyone else. "I call the defendant, Ruby Rose, to the stand."

Ruby's eye widened, and she turned to Weiss in concern. The heiress nodded, encouraging Ruby to stay calm. Nervously the huntress made her way to the front and waited to begin.

"In my attempts to uncover what could have happened to Pyrrha, I remembered that she was supposedly going to visit Professor Port to discuss an assignment. To this end, I visited him while the court was in recess, and he explained what had happened. He'd begun to explain the requirements, and she slumped over completely unconscious."

Pacing back and forth, he went on. "While I think it's clear he simply had the same effect on her as he does all his classes, he didn't know what was wrong with her. Just to be safe he took her directly to the infirmary, which is where she remained sleeping until after the attack."

Weiss stood up. "While that is certainly important information, why do you need Ruby up there? Why not Pyrrha?"

Ren's face momentarily twitched, it seemed almost like a flicker of… _a smile?_ ' _Oh no._ '

"Because I do not have a question for her. I do have one for Miss Rose, however. While I'd been reading through the case, I noticed you'd said you planned to visit Doctor Oobleck; but the times didn't make sense. According to what you said before all of this, you'd be with him until long after Nora found you in the dorms."

Now a slight smirk evident on his face, Weiss's opponent went for the kill. "So when I saw that he was there with Port, I asked him why he cut his session short with you. Do you want to know what he said?"

Ruby laughed nervously. "Eheheh. Not really…."

"He said he had no idea what I was talking about. You never told him that you'd come by, and you certainly never showed up." Weiss's already fair skin went downright pale at this. Looking at Ruby in shock, her fears were not assuaged whatsoever by the apologetic shrug she received.

"So, Ruby, would you mind telling us where you really were and why you lied about it?"

"Okay, okay." she said with a sigh, "Obviously I wasn't really with Oobleck. The truth is I just needed to be alone. I knew Yang would want to talk to me and keep me company, and wouldn't be happy with the idea of me just being alone, but I needed some space. I lied and said I'd be with a teacher since she wouldn't come with me or tell me to blow it off, the I just went out to a quiet spot away from the dorm."

Looking Weiss in the eyes, she spoke with more confidence than before. "But I _didn't_ hurt Jaune! I wasn't thinking about when I said I'd be done with Oobleck and just came back. When I got to our room, I saw JNPR's door was open slightly. It was dark inside, but I could see Jaune lying on the ground, and when I saw there was some blood, I was really angry- someone just attacked one of my friends, even if he did upset me! That's when Nora tackled me from behind, and you know the rest."

Ruby looked down at her lap, but Ren wasn't quite done. "Do you have anyone who could back your story up, did anyone see you on your walk?"

"I…" Ruby faltered, her tone giving away what her answer would be, "no, I don't think so. It was really empty out since it was late, and I don't think I saw anyone; that was kinda the point."

The prosecution attorney nodded to himself as if he'd expected that to be the case. "So you're telling us that you were upset with Jaune, went for a walk, and came back just after the attack? And you have nobody that can confirm your story? I'm sorry, but I think it's clear what happened."

Pointing at Ruby, he said, "Ruby was still upset with Jaune for what he did, so while everyone was away, she went to the dorm and attacked him. Unfortunately for her, before she could slip away Nora turned up and apprehended her. We have motive, opportunity, and we know you were at the scene of the crime. Unless you can give the court a better explanation of what could have happened, then I'd say there's no need to continue this."

' _This is it. I've lost, there's no way I can protect Ruby from that. He's proven just about everything he needs to, and just to top it off he also showed Ruby lied to us at least once. She has no credibility, and I've got nothing to prove her innocence._ ' Weiss groaned. It had been going so well up until the break. Ruby seemed innocent, and she had been so sure it was Pyrrha! Why had she so foolish as to run with that theory so quickly?

' _Wait…._ '

The Schnee gasped and shot to her feet. "Blake, er, your honor! I can prove Ruby is innocent!" All eyes in the room turned to her, muttering came from the witnesses, and Nora wore a poorly concealed smile behind her hand.

"Well then, by all means, go ahead!"

" _I call Yang Xiao Long back up to the stand!_ "

After the blonde took her place in confusion, Weiss launched into her speech. "We all know Pyrrha wasn't even awake at the time of the attack, and I _know_ Ruby couldn't have done it, so I needed to figure out who _really_ could have done it. I was wondering why I was so sure it was Pyrrha, and that's when it came to me."

Turning to face Yang, Weiss went on. "It was your testimony. You had stated that you saw Pyrrha going towards the scene of the crime shortly before it occurred. In my panic, I almost forgot that was why I had accused her; but given some time to think, I realized what's really going on."

"And, uh… what would that be?" The blonde asked nervously.

"That you're the real culprit! Your testimony is directly contradictory of the facts, you _couldn't_ have seen Pyrrha there because she was unconscious in the infirmary!" Weiss shouted triumphantly.

"W-well it was really crowded!" Yang protested, "I thought it was her, but maybe I just mistook someone else for Pyrrha!"

Weiss smirked and shook her head. "I find that hard to believe. As we heard in Ruby's account of where she was, it was very empty outside- she didn't see a single person. Nora's testimony reinforces this by having mentioned that it was already dark out, not many people would be walking around outside at the time."

The brawler seemed to be at a loss for words, her eyes were wide with panic. "But… but that doesn't make me the criminal! I wasn't even a suspect, why would I go up and lie if that could only get me in trouble!?"

"That's what I asked myself at first, but I thought back and realized something- you've been saving my case again and again. You gave us a motive for Pyrrha, you placed her at the scene of the crime, you called into question what she was doing. This whole time you've been trying to get her convicted, and it's obvious why- it's the same reason you attacked Jaune in the first place- Ruby."

"Your tendency to be an overprotective older sister are well-known. You probably didn't approve of Jaune dating her in the first place, and then he crossed the line and cheated on her. He and Pyrrha hurt your sister, so you were going to make them regret it."

Blake leaned forward. "Yes, about that- how did everything come together like this?"

"Easy. Yang's plan was simple: She was going to beat the crap of out Jaune, and let Pyrrha take the blame- two birds with one stone. Back in sparring class we'd all talked about where we'd be that evening. Yang knew when Jaune would be alone in his room, and that Pyrrha was supposed to be the first one to get back, so that's when she attacked. Her plan would have worked perfectly if it wasn't for two things she didn't see coming."

"Pyrrha would fall asleep while with Port, and Ruby would _lie_ to her."

"In her mind, Pyrrha would arrive at the room first, and Ruby would have a solid alibi with Doctor Oobleck. Instead, however, Pyrrha was sent to the infirmary, and Ruby came back early- just in time to be caught by Nora."

"What about the red?" Blake asked, "Yang doesn't wear any, nor does she have red hair."

"True, but when she's angry her eyes turn red. It's a side effect of her semblance, and she was most certainly furious at the time." Facing away from Blake, Weiss proceeded with her argument. "This brings us back to the beginning of the case where Nora was so sure Jaune had been watching television with Ruby. When she got upstairs, though, it was off. It doesn't make sense that the attacker would have taken the time to turn it off, but Yang's semblance accounts for this. Her hair glows like fire, making the flickering, changing light that Nora saw from the ground."

"You're recklessly impulsive, incredibly defensive of your little sister, and let's not forget how quick you resort to violence. Your fighting style is all about using your fists, you're more than capable of punching through Jaune's impressive aura, and you certainly have reason enough to do so."

Yang looked around the dorm is desperation for some kind of defense. "You can't prove any of that, though! Okay, yes, I lied on the stand to protect my sister, but the rest of that's just a theory- you have no evidence actually incriminating me! How do you intend to actually back up any of what you've just said!?"

"I don't," Weiss replied with a victorious grin on her face, "I don't need to. You did all of this for your sister, and that's why _you're_ going to confess. While I can't prove it was you who attacked Jaune, somebody's going to pay for that attack regardless. Pyrrha's already above suspicion, and the only one left who could have done this is Ruby."

"She was at the scene, she acted suspiciously, and she had plenty of reason to hurt him. If Blake doesn't find _you_ guilty, it will be _Ruby_."

That was it. Weiss gambled it all. _'I just admitted that Ruby very well could be the culprit in front of everyone. If Yang doesn't confess, there's no coming back from this.'_

A flurry of emotions crossed her face before she let out a big sigh and hung her head. "I did it. I was the one who assaulted Jaune. Ruby's innocent."

Blake smiled. "Well, I suppose in the face of a confession, I find the defendant, Ruby Rose, _not guilty_."

* * *

 **Yay, Weiss saved the day! And it was surprising how well they all stayed in character during the trail, wasn't it?**

 **Yeah, anyways, there's an important announcement here that was in my last chapter of Hollow Fragments, so if you haven't read that, here are the parts that apply to this story:**

* * *

 _ **Lots of reasons this was so late. Many can't be changed, but you can help by reviewing.**_

 _ **In the interest of keeping myself writing in general, I'll have to abandon my 2 story limit and alternating updates. I'll write what I want, when I want. Hopefully that keeps me going, and lets me get out some of the ideas that have been distracting me so much.**_

 _ **So yes. PLEASE REVIEW! That can make a world of difference, and they mean so much to me (especially those that are well thought out or share your opinions and theories). Follow, favorite, share this with people, whatever. Just know that the more I interact with you readers, the more I want to get back to writing.**_

 _ **You all have the patience of angels, thank you.**_


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